How to Play Dominant Species: Actions, Dominance & Glaciation
Dominant Species is an area-control game where players program actions before resolving them in a fixed sequence.
Scope: GMT base game, current printing.
Action Planning Phase
Players alternate placing Action Pawns onto open action spaces.
Execution Phase
Resolve the action display from top to bottom. Earlier planning choices may become stronger or weaker as the board changes.
Adaptation
Add elements to your species so it can survive and compete on more terrain tiles.
Abundance, Wasteland and Depletion
These actions alter element availability on the shared ecosystem.
Glaciation
Convert terrain to tundra, score the affected area and change future survival pressure.
Speciation, Wanderlust and Migration
Add species cubes, expand the map and reposition populations.
Competition
Remove opposing species from qualifying terrain under the competition rules.
Domination
Score selected tiles and determine ecological dominance based on element matching, not just cube majority.
Game end
The game ends through the Ice Age/end-card structure, followed by final scoring.